Bobcats Roll to First Victory Over Rocky Mountain

Saturday, November 9

BOZEMAN

4 p.m.

Montana State University

1-1,0-0Big Sky

Rocky Mountain

0-1

Rocky Mountain

Montana St.

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

11/9/2019 7:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

Four Bobcats scored in double digits and Montana State never trailed as the men’s basketball team defeated Rocky Mountain, 93-60, on Saturday in Worthington Arena

By: Andrew Pedersen

BOZEMAN, Mont. – Four Bobcats scored in double digits and Montana State never trailed as the men's basketball team defeated Rocky Mountain, 93-60, on Saturday in Worthington Arena. The victory in front of 2,697 fans improved MSU to 1-1 and was the first for Danny Sprinkle in his head coaching career.

The Bobcats jumped out to an early lead and wouldn't look back. Four different MSU players combined for the first 11 points of the contest in the opening 3 minutes, 13 seconds. The Bobcats would garner their largest lead of the first half at the 11:09 mark when Amin Adamu followed up a transition steal and dunk with a layup off of a Harald Frey steal.

Rocky Mountain eventually cut into the deficit to make it 44-31 at the half.

The Bobcats got off to a strong second half start. After the Battlin' Bears cut the deficit to 11 with an early layup, the Bobcats used an 11-0 run to break away. Adamu hit a jumper in the paint, Frey hit a 3-pointer and Ladan Ricketts knocked in two from deep to give Montana State plenty of breathing room.

Sprinkle believed MSU's early play set the tone.

"I think getting stops and getting out in transition in the first 10 minutes (was the key)," Sprinkle said. "We did a really good job of getting stops and pushing tempo. Mychael Paulo was tremendous tonight in both halves.

"I thought in the second half, Ladan Ricketts was huge with those three straight 3's. That kind of got us some momentum. But it all stems from getting stops. When our defense is good, when we're on point and can get out and run, it really helps our offense."

The Battlin' Bears (2-1) fell down by 27, but were able to cut the MSU lead to 19 with 11 minutes remaining. An emphatic Jubrile Belo dunk on the next possession pushed the Bobcat advantage to 64-43 and Rocky Mountain wouldn't get within 20 the rest of the way.

"I think just energy and effort," Sprinkle said of what was the big difference maker in the game. "We came out really strong and we built up a big lead, and then I think we got stagnant. We're immature, we're young. It's a good learning lesson for our guys. Teams aren't going to go away, especially well coached teams like Rocky."

The 60 points Montana State allowed was the least to an opponent since the 2016-17 season. The Bobcats forced 26 turnovers and scored 33 points off the Battlin Bears miscues. MSU also scored 26 points in transition.

"We definitely want to be a team that plays great defense, rebounds the ball and gets out on the run," Frey said. "That's what we want to build our identity around. I think we have guys that can do it, play great defense and get up and down the floor with the best of them. That was a point of emphasis for tonight.

"When our half-court offense was struggling a bit at times, we were able to get easy baskets in transition."

Belo and Paulo led the Bobcats with 16 points apiece, while Adamu and Frey followed with 12 apiece. Frey had a team-high 8 assists and Paulo followed with 7 assists. Belo grabbed a game-high 8 rebounds.

Montana State shot 52.2% from the floor while holding Rocky Mountain to 39.3% from the field. The Bobcats racked up 15 steals, tied for the eighth most in program history and was the most in a single game recorded by MSU since 2012.

"It's a good win," Belo said. "We're back to .500 but I feel like we have some adjustments to make. Credit to Rocky, they came in ready to play and we've got to up our level and standard and do what we're suppose to do."

Montana State travels to Greensboro, North Carolina, for three consecutive games in the Spartan Invitational. The Bobcats open the tournament by taking on Appalachian State on Friday, Nov. 15.